Had a few interesting experiences at work today, thanks to our hell of a nor-easter we're getting on the east coast.

I went in to work on Saturday to do some extra stuff, where operations were normal. I checked the weather in the planning centre and it only said rain for tomorrow, so I didn't worry too much. Operations were going as normal.

I was scheduled to work on Sunday and I was going to go in as normal, when I get a cell phone call at about 5:30 in the morning. The convo went something like this-
"Hello?"
"Brian, it's Rich at the airport."
"What happened now."
"Look out the window."
"It's raining and windy."
"Yes, and we are getting pretty much all of JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia's flights."
"Glorious."
So I tell my dad and he ends up going to his job at Baltimore-Washington Airport later in the day, as my carpool treks its way through the enigma of metro-DC highways. By the time I get out there it is chaos so I retreat to the BA office. Just so you understand this, we had 126 diversions into Dulles all day yesterday, some of the airplanes left as soon as they arrived, others are still sitting out there this morning.

Anyway, at this point (around 7 am) things aren't that bad so I make my way out to get something to eat. I spent a large part of my time out taking pictures of the diverted airplanes we don't see that much as the ground control team showed me how to figure out where to park airplanes we didn't have room for. All in all, it was like a big game of Tetris in the control tower. It really is neat stuff.

Things started to really get bad around 4:00 in the afternoon when JFK pretty much shut down in the middle of their main time for European flights. We picked up a ton of aircraft from Kennedy and Newark, but one really stood out.

Some of you may know of Emirates Airlines, the world-class carrier based in Dubai. One of their 777-300 aircraft flew into Dulles at about 7pm diverting from JFK and eventually cancelled (and is still sitting at the airport as of 9am this morning) so we offered them our gate after one of our flights left so they could park up for the night, find hotels, etc. I had never serviced an Emirates airplane before so it was a neat experience. Our airline worked to help the crew find good hotels, fuel for the jet, catering food, etc. In the end, the airplane was completely shut at about 11pm, not bad considering we had no idea they were going to cancel. BTW, their flight attendants are gorgeous. Check them out next time you are at Kennedy.

As we were unloading passengers into the terminal at about 10pm, this lady came up to me and asked why the flight was cancelled.
Lady- "Did you cancel the flight?"
Me- "No, your crew decided that it would be safest to stay here for the night because of the weather."
"But I need to get to New York tonight. I have work tomorrow."
"Ma'am, if you need to call your workplace, please go to the information desk down near the Korean Air office in baggage claims."
"Why don't you call them for me?!"
"I am an intern, ma'am. I am not supposed to do these things."
At this point she proceeded to begin literally kicking and screaming. She managed to kick me in the shin and knee several times, a security guard in the groin, and she knocked over a plant. Nice job.

By now the airport police have seen this lady and are handcuffing her as the security guard is holding himself and I am limping over to pick up the plant. All in all everyone was okay, that is, except for the passenger, who was taken into custody by the MWAA Police. Looks like she won't be going to work tomorrow. I will, however, be in the workplace, and I will forever be known as the intern who got kicked by the angry Emirates passenger.

This was not the end of our airport day of fun either. Apparently someone from an airline that will not be named decided to drive way too fast on the tarmac and wrecked a luggage vehicle. Great.

I'll update at about 530pm when I'm at work later, hopefully no one is flying today.

Why am I typing this? To let you know as a passenger that next time your airplane is delayed or cancelled, that there are a lot of people working their asses off to get you to where you need to go as soon as possible. Please do not assault us. The Emirates airplane could have left at about 8pm, but the crew decided to cancel because it simply was not safe enough to continue to New York. It may be inconvenient, but I would hope that the passengers would rather sit in Washington than have their airplane go down because of driving rain and wind. Right now there is no departure time scheduled, probably because the weather has all gone to hell, but it should be out of here today sometime.

We try to make your experience a good one. Please return the favor to those of us who try to get you where you need to go. Please don't kick us either.

If I had to be somewhere in 12 hours, and I couldn't fly, but the drive was only 4 hours, I wouldn't even be more than slightly annoyed. This woman commits assault? What is wrong with people? Renting a car and taking a bus/shuttle is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Often times, if it is too dangerous to fly due to weather, it is fine to drive.

A lot of people actually did just that, the car rental places sent several shuttle buses over to pick up passengers and run them over to the rental facilities. I guess it did not dawn on this lady that assaulting an airport employee and security guard would not get the airplane to leave faster.

Yes, she seemed to be a spoiled brat like someone you would see on My Super Sweet 16 or something. Fortunately the police officer dragged her away so fast she broke a heel on her shoe. Nicely done to the MWAA cop.

It joys me to see people like that being punished, even if I am limping on my right leg from a direct heel hit to my kneecap.

I'll keep everyone updated, usually the police have a meeting with all involved parties (in this case myself, the guard, and the b*tch) and it will be decided whether or not to press charges.

I really do hope Emirates sends her bags back to Dubai, in the meantime I'll keep everyone updated. This will be fun.

Yes, she seemed to be a spoiled brat like someone you would see on My Super Sweet 16 or something. Fortunately the police officer dragged her away so fast she broke a heel on her shoe. Nicely done to the MWAA cop.

It joys me to see people like that being punished, even if I am limping on my right leg from a direct heel hit to my kneecap.

I'll keep everyone updated, usually the police have a meeting with all involved parties (in this case myself, the guard, and the b*tch) and it will be decided whether or not to press charges.

I really do hope Emirates sends her bags back to Dubai, in the meantime I'll keep everyone updated. This will be fun.

JB

You may want to get your knee checked out. I took a hit to a kneecap when I was about 17. I didn't think it was such a big deal, it hurt a lot and I limped around on it for awhile and then it was fine. Except that it still bothers me to this day. Some days I can't walk for more than a half hour without having to stop and sit down for a bit from the pain. Most days I'm fine fortunately, but if the weather gets a certain way or if I sit a certain way for too long, or if I'm really active the day before, or if it just randomly decides the act up....

I would definitely encourage the police to press charges, hell hire a lawyer and go after her yourself even - it sure sounds like she deserves it.

I will get my leg checked out, thank you for the recommendation. I'm finding it hard to walk on and it's turning very dark red. Maybe the doctor's office is in order.
In the meantime the airplane is still out there, an email was sent out explaining last night's "incident" and as of 2:30, the airplane is still at Dulles. I don't know why, but that's not my concern.

The lady is in the custody of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police and will not be released until she meets with me and the security guard at some point. I'm thinking of prolonging the date as long as possible, not because I don't want to go, but more because I don't want the bitch flying anyone else's airline and injuring someone else.

I may press charges, it depends on her attitude in the meeting. I am a forgiving person. We'll see what happens.

I'll keep everyone updated on the saga of the angry Emirates passenger.

You might think that by letting her off easy, you are being a "nice guy," but I'd say the opposite is true; you'd have to be a complete dick to do that. Specifically, you'd be a dick to your coworkers and anyone else who will have to interact with this woman in the future. She obviously thinks it's okay for her to treat people like shit, and as long as she keeps getting away with it there's really no reason for her to stop. People like her need to learn that their are consequences for their actions. Who knows, you might even do her a favor; learning this lesson now could prevent her from doing something even more stupid later on.